Subscribe to this blog

Follow by Email

Peace That Transcends All Understanding

Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious for anything but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus”

The greatest gift I have received from God, since
turning my life over to Him, is peace. I
did not know peace before that. Even
after all these years of striving to live a godly life, I’m still amazed
whenever I experience His “Peace that
transcends all understanding”. It
doesn’t always seem logical and may not be understood. I’ve even had well-meaning Christians
question my peace in some circumstances where they thought I should have
responded a different way.

I believe that God’s peace benefits us most in our
marriages. Let’s face it – we don’t
marry perfect people. We are all human
and come with flaws. If we go into marriage
expecting our spouse to make us happy, we will fail miserably. Maybe even before the honeymoon is over.

One wrong word, action, or even look can immediately
destroy a blissful moment of happiness (which we usually equate to the health
of our relationship.) We can quickly
become disappointed and easily hurt by our spouse and take it very
personally. Often times, our spouse may
have had no intention of offending us with their careless word or action. We put so much pressure on our spouse to be
responsible for every moment of joy and every moment of sorrow we experience.

It isn’t until you learn to separate your
expectations of happiness from your spouse and allow them to be human, that God
can embrace you with His heavenly peace.
Only then can you survive the certain disappointments and hurts you will
face in marriage.

When you turn your life and your marriage over to
God, you free your spouse from the responsibility of your happiness. You realize that, although they do make
mistakes and can’t always save you, they are striving to be the best they can
be – at life and at marriage.
(Hopefully.) If not, you can’t
change them – that’s up to God and them.
You can only pray for them that God would help them find the way.

A number of years ago, Rick was in a job that
demanded a lot of his time. I felt
lonely and missed spending time with him.
Prior to that, I would nag about my lack of attention from him, which
only turned into arguments. I had been
working hard to communicate more positively to Rick. I said nothing to him this time about my
feelings. I turned to God and prayed about it.
He gave me total peace about the situation.

At that time, Rick went away for a week on a
business trip. Half-way through the week
he called me on the phone and said, “You know, God has been convicting me of
something. I haven’t been spending
enough time with you. Please forgive
me. I will try harder.”

When I say God needs to be in the middle of your
marriage, he will act as an interpreter for you and your spouse. He will convey a message that you can’t seem to
vocalize. Our God is an awesome God and
will do amazing feats in your marriage – if you ask Him to. The huge, overwhelming benefit of including
Him, is that peace that surpasses all understanding!

Resurrection Power for Marriage - 365 Day Devotional

My latest book available in ebook format. www.sandeelester.com

"In a world where fifty percent of marriages will fail, GPS to a Joyful Marriage is an excellent tool for Christians seeking to improve or restore their marriage. Sandee writes in a way that is humorous, honest and insightful as her wisdom comes directly from the healing of her own marriage. A practical book that provides biblically based techniques on how to build a healthy marriage." Suzanne Accardo, M.Ed. Certified Life Coach